The Conclave
by Dante Wallace's Ghost
Summary: Years of training, violence and hardships have led to this moment. The conclave has begun. Lexa couldn't be more prepared, she had grown close to nobody, she had no weaknesses. But as the conclave progresses, new sides to people are unveiled and Lexa is forced to consider how far she is really willing to go in the fight for commander.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Lexa had always enjoyed looking out over Polis. It was oddly calming seeing all the people just going about their every day lives: compared to all the fighting their lives seemed so calm and relaxing. Lexa had always kind of missed that. Taken from her family since she was only a young girl, she had never experienced any sense of normality. All she knew was fighting and training for the Conclave that would make or break her. She turned and walked away from the window. It was late and she probably should sleep, Titus would have her up in the morning for training. Although she would have been happy with a normal life, part of Lexa loved being different. Very few people ever got the chances she got, very few people ever stood a chance to become the next commander of the people. She walked back to the room with the other night bloods.

Titus had taught her to keep her friends close and her enemies closer. He had then told her that all of the night bloods could in a sense be seen as her enemy: at any point the Conclave could start and they would fight against her, all their past being thrown out of the window. Lexa had taken Titus's advice and kept close watch on the other night bloods. If they could all one day be her enemies, then she needed to know what their weaknesses were, how to best attack her. She could have no friends because once you let your guard down, they could get close to you. Lexa could have no friends in the conclave.

She walked leisurely back to her room, she had no reason to be hurried so she didn't need to run or leave quickly. She had all the time in the world. Or so she thought. Titus came down the corridor and without any words, put his hand on her shoulder and pulled him with her to the throne. Lexa's heart was pounding. This could only mean one thing. He pulled her into the throne room where the other night bloods were standing in front of the throne. Usually they would do this when they had come to see the commander but the throne was empty. Titus pushed Lexa forward and she went and stood towards the back of the others. She accidentally brushed Luna who gave a look of half annoyance, half superiority. Lexa didn't look away in embarrassment, she stared back. Luna didn't scare her. The doors opened and several of the warriors walked, blood covering their faces, their clothes everything. Suddenly, she heard shock and gasps from the other night bloods. Lexa turned around to see one of the warriors carrying a body. She didn't have to be the smartest to figure out what had happened.

The war with the Delphi Clan had taken yet another victim.

The Conclave was about to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Lexa lay down and stared up at the ceiling. It didn't seem real, they had been trained for this their whole lives, yet now the Conclave was actually happening it seemed more like a fantasy than anything that happened. They would be told when the conclave was in the morning, it could be days or weeks away. They were meant to be asleep by sun down but she doubted anybody would be enforcing that. Almost all the others were awake and talking in hushed, whispered tones. She rolled onto her side and stared upon the other eight. Luna and her brother Kailash were lying down and talking avidly. Kailash had his back turned to her but she could see Luna talking. She could barely make out her facial expression but she could see that Luna was talking quickly. Luna had always been a strange character, a savage and skilled fighter but Lexa had always sensed that she didn't enjoy her skill or power. If anything it seemed to be a burden. Luna was pretty but in a wild, manic sort of way. Her hair remained curly and frizzy and could never be tamed, much like Luna in training. She had dark eyes which always seemed to hold deep sadness to Lexa. Luna had always distanced herself from the others, remaining close to her brother. Kailash, unlike Luna, was not skilled in anything, it seemed. He was the youngest there, at 12 but he was already the tallest. He had never been coordinated and with his sudden new found height h, he was even worse. Lexa doubted he would survive the first round. She didn't appear to be alarmed at all although that did fit with the Luna that Lexa knew. Luna never let anything faze her, she seemed calm and on top of the situation at all times. For a brief second, Luna looked up and her eyes briefly met with Lexa's. Her initial response was to turn away but that conclave was nearing. Maybe it wouldn't do her any harm to get into Luna's head more. She stared intently and Luna dropped her gaze. She watched as Luna said something abruptly to Kailash and turned over in bed.

The others still carried on talking avidly. Klynn and Hilla were sitting up and talking loud enough for everbody to hear. Lexa had never really liked those two. They had been friends from the beginning as they had both come from the Broad Leaf Clan. Hilla was about an inch taller than Lexa and she seemed to think this gave her superiority over everybody else. She had light blonde hair that was always braided around her in a sort of crown. She was delicate and definetly didn't have a fighter's build. Klynn on the other hand was shorter and slightly wider built. She had a carved, angular profile and whilst she was incredible strong, seemed to lack the skills to be an excellent fighter. They had always been quite an exclusive pair, never even attempting to talk to Lexa or the others. Not that Lexa had ever really minded much. She didn't really deem them worthy of her friendship, they were average fighters and had always seemed more self involved than Lexa would have wanted in a friend. She decided to follow Luna's exampled and she turned away from them closing her eyes as she did.

She awoke early as always when the sun rose. She looked over to see Minne, sitting calmly with his eyes closed. Minne had always been one of the strongest fighters in the group, not as good as her or Luna but still pretty good. Minne had always an aura of power about him and he had, like Lexa kept himself to himself during their time in Polis. He had always been quiet but something told Lexa that now that the conclave was near, he wouldn't isolate himself as much. She suspected that he too would be involved in the mind games with the other competitors. His green eyes always seemed to be stern and conniving when Lexa saw him. The night bloods had been told that the Commander's spirit would choose but Titus had always favoured her. Anyway, if she was able to get into somebody's head so easily, they clearly weren't going to be the commander's choice anyway. She looked over to see Luna staring over at her. Lexa was determined to stare back but then realised she wasn't staring at her: she was looking past Lexa and out of the window at the morning sky. She had a far away expression on her face and Lexa wondered if she would ever truly understand Luna. She seemed vicious in some ways yet in moments like this, Lexa wondered how Luna could ever kill anybody with or without her skills.

A guard came in a few minutes later and awoke the other sleeping nightbloods. They walked quickly down the corridors and up to where the commander's body was. Purification had begun. Lexa and the other eight knelt down before the embalmed body of their previous commander. Odahl had been a brave, strong commander. He had taught Lexa much of what she knew and she only hoped that he was now at peace. His fight was over but Lexa's was just beginning. The guards took them to Titus where they were told about their conclave. In would take place in a few weeks, enough time for the night bloods to prepare for what would lie ahead. Lexa knew that the next weeks would be laborious. Titus had served three commanders prior to her and held the three conclaves and she knew that the weeks before could make or break your conclave. You could use your time wisely and size up your opponents, get into their heads even. You could perfect your skills but equally, you could grow complacent and distracted which would be your downfall. Lexa could not let that happen. Nothing could distract her. She wanted and needed to win this.

She felt that she was destined to be Heda.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

Lexa narrowly dodged the spear that Hilla slashed at her and she jumped back. Hilla smiled slyly and it was clear that Lexa's plan had worked. She was giving Hilla a sense of false victory which she could then uses against her. Complacency was the enemy and if Hilla didn't realise that in training she was doomed for the conclave. Lexa skilfully dodged Hilla's spear again, this time jabbing hers forward causing Hilla to jump back in alarm. Hilla had been caught off guard, exactly as Lexa had wanted. She smiled to herself, if she could perfect this for the conclave then she would win easily. After Hilla's confidence was lost, defeating her in training was no hardship. Lexa sliced her spear at Hilla, cutting her arm in the process. Hilla fell onto the ground her eyes wide. From afar, Lexa could see Titus smiling over at her. Lexa smiled back. It was no secret that she was the favourite, she had been for years. Hilla picked herself up and stormed off inside. Lexa threw the spears to the ground as Titus walked over to her.

"Very good, Lexa, very good. You've got the makings of a fine Heda." He said to her. Lexa smiled to herself, Titus was yet again confirming what she believed to be true.  
"Heda's spirit hasn't yet chosen me. Until then I am yet another nightblood. All I can do is train and hope that I am chosen." She replied. Titus nodded and smiled at her.  
"Spoken like a commander. I have served three others before this, and I am telling you that you have the same qualities that made them so great. Continue your training, Lexa, the Commander's spirit does favour a good fighter." Titus said solemnly as he walked away from her. Lexa picked up the spear again and continued to practice. Time was valuable and even if Hilla wasn't there to continue their fight, she could not afford to waste valuable time. She spun the spear around in her hand and stabbed it deep into the ground, the tip submerged by soil and earth. If the ground was a person, it would be well and truly dead. She smiled and pulled it out. She spun around, her spear out and she nearly impaled Luna on it.  
"Have you come to watch me, Luna?" she asked, feeling confident after display of skilful spear work. Perhaps Luna was intimidated by it.  
"At first. I was impressed, Lexa. Kailash was tired and left. I see that you are also training alone. Perhaps we should fight together." Luna replied calmly. Lexa threw her spear and grabbed the other one for herself.

"Try and keep up." She challenged. Luna was on equal grounds with her in terms of skill so if she could scare Luna and throw her off her game then the fight would be hers. Luna didn't reply, her expression completely neutral, showing no trace of emotion. Suddenly, Luna's spear seemed to jump forward and past Lexa's, grazing Lexa's arm. Lexa staggered back slightly but retaliating by slashing her spear towards Luna. It met with a smack against the wood of Luna's spear. Luna's face broke into a slight smile. Lexa continued to try and get past Luna's defence but everything seemed to be blocked and stopped somehow. Lexa's anger began to rise and she ran towards Luna, her spear curving in the air towards Luna's head. Calmly, Luna moved her spear to defend the hit and quickly and easily, knocked Lexa's spear out of her hands. She whipped around and Lexa fell to the ground, Luna's spear aimed at her neck. Lexa stared at the tip of the spear. If this was the conclave, she would have been killed there and then. But Luna retracted her spear and held out her hand towards Lexa. Lexa accepted it and pulled herself it.

"Impressive." She said coldly to Luna. Luna smiled slightly at her and then walked back into the tower. Lexa was left alone. She stared down at her spear that was still tipped with a black blood from Hilla. Luna had used her own technique against. She had seen Lexa defeat Hilla and read her like a book. She could see that Lexa had become over confident and used it to win. She threw the spear into the ground, driving the tip into the soil. She wouldn't be so stupid to let Luna win again. She walked back inside and to calm herself, left the tower and decided to wander through the streets of Polis.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

Lexa walked past through the market. Being amongst the people reminded her that one defeat meant nothing. She could take on anybody in the market and they would have no chance. Just because Luna was strong didn't diminish Lexa's strength as a fighter. She could still win. The conclave was weeks away and the new commander had been dead for a day. There was still time. Anyway, Luna's early victory would mean nothing in the conclave. If anything, it had revealed Luna's strategies. Lexa could easily win now. She walked through the market, occasionally looking at the goods if it so pleased her. She carried on walking to the edge of the woods and sat down. She enjoyed sitting at the woods edge, being there always had a calming effect. After all she was Trikru and the woods had been her home before she had been taken away to Polis.

"Excuse me." A voice brought Lexa back to reality. She turned around to see a girl, around her age standing there. The girl looked vaguely familiar to her. She had dark skin and large brown eyes that seemed kind of soft. They reminded Lexa of a doe, calming and innocent. The girl had a tattoo on the side of her face and her hair was long and dark and braided all the way down her back. Her clothes were grey and dirtied and her thin, concave face told Lexa that she was probably one of many people in Polis that didn't know when their next meal would come. She wondered what this girl could want with her.  
"Yes." She said, standing tall over the girl. She had been taught to instantly show her power and authority, everything was important: her stance could speak volumes. Yet the girl didn't cower away or even break eye contact with Lexa.  
"Your arm is bleeding. You seem to have had quite a fight." The girl said. Lexa looked down at her arm where Luna had hit and noticed that it was bleeding heavily. Long, black drips of blood flowed down her arm and she quickly put her hand over it.  
"I am fine, thankyou." Lexa said, attempting to cover up. She hadn't noticed it so it can't have been too bad. Besides she couldn't be worrying people, she was independent, a lone wolf.  
"It's bleeding heavily. Let me bandage it for you before you bleed to death." The girl said with authority and walked away, "Come on. Let me dress it for you." She beckoned for Lexa to follow. Maybe it was the girl's unthreatening presence or maybe it was just that deep down, Lexa knew that she had to stop the bleeding, but Lexa followed the girl back to her tent.

The girl's room was nice and calming like her. There was an animal skin spread across the floor and there were what seemed to be hundreds of candles adorning the fabric of the tent.  
"Sit down there." The girl said and beckoned to the rug.  
"I prefer to stand." Lexa said standing tall, looking away from the girl. She was not going to get rid of all her authority by sitting and kneeling for the girl. The girl ignored her and went to an old chest. Out of it, she pulled out a few strips of dirtying fabric and walked over to Lexa. She slowly began to bandage the wound for Lexa. Lexa turned and looked at her. She was bent over focusing and seemed to be having trouble securing the bandage properly. She was repeatedly trying to tie it and it kept slipping out of her hand. That's when Lexa noticed that the girl's hands were different. Her thumb was only a short stump. No wonder she was having trouble.  
"Here. Let me." She gently moved the girl's hand away and tied the bandage on her own. She turned to look the girl and smiled slightly, "Thankyou."  
"I couldn't let you bleed. You can probably get it done better when you return to the Tower." She said and for a second Lexa was at a loss as to how she knew that Lexa lived there and then it hit her. She had just bandaged her arm and of course she had seen that Lexa's blood was black as the night sky.  
"I don't mean to pry but I just wanted to know if..." The girl faltered, clearly embarrassed to be asking Lexa. She bit her lip and then looked up, "If the rumours were true. If Heda was dead and the conclave is nearing." On the one hand, Lexa shouldn't be giving away information to people. The people had no right to know and it wasn't Lexa's information to tell anyway but the girl seemed so honest and Lexa decided that she would tell her. She clearly meant no harm, it was simply curiosity.  
"Yes. They are true. Which is why I have to go. I have to go and train." She said, walking slowly away.  
"Why did you leave the tower?" The girl said, clearly less embarrassed to question her now.  
"I can leave when I please. I wanted to clear my thoughts. A clear mind is vital for fighting." She said as she lifted the flap of the tent to leave. She was about to walk away when Lexa realised she hadn't even managed to catch her helper's name. She turned and walked back in. The girl had turned her back on the exit and jumped slightly as she Lexa entered.

"I didn't catch your name. It would be rude for me not to catch it after your help." She said smiling but ensuring her tone conveyed authority. The girl smiled kindly at her.  
"I'm Costia." She said as the two exchanged a smile. Lexa turned and left, her smile still on her lips.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

Lexa walked back to the training grounds. Klynn and Hilla were engaged in a fierce fighting with two long iron swords when she entered the room. Hilla saw and her enter and rammed her sword towards Klynn. Klynn slipped backwards and Hilla gave Lexa a fierce look. Lexa smiled slightly to herself, it was a little pathetic and obvious what Hilla had been doing. Klynn whimpered slightly as she looked down at her leg where Hilla's spear had hit. Hilla smiled to herself clearly satisfied that she had made an impression but Lexa was glad, it only proved that she had managed to get under her skin.

Lexa began to engage in a fight with a short, thin nightblood called Abra. It was good fight and Abra had clearly improved from the last time they had trained together. The battle was long and intense. No words were exchanged and Lexa found herself getting lost in the heat of the fight. She could have continued all day until Abra's spear stabbed through the clumsy bandage that Costia had put on her. Lexa gasped as pain spread through her arm as the Spear reopened the wound. She fell to the ground, clutching her arm. Abra instantly recoiled his spear and knelt down to check on her.

"Lexa, are you okay?" He asked her, tentatively reaching for her arm. Lexa instantly jumped back and away from him and he retracted his hand. She was unwilling to let him handle her arm as Costia had. "Sorry." He said firmly as he stood up and walked over to his spear.  
"Do you want to continue?" He asked her, holding her spear out to her and although she felt slightly numb from the pain, she nodded and heaved herself up. If she couldn't fight with a small arm wound then what hope would she have for the conclave? She grabbed her spear roughly out of Abra's hand and stood ready to fight.

It was instantly clear to both of them that Lexa was now not fighting as well as before. She was losing focus and jabbing the spear in ways that she would obviously miss. Lexa began to get angry with herself. She had to overcome this, she couldn't let a stupid arm wound stop her. If this was the conclave she would be dead. She leapt forward, jabbing and slashing her spear closer and closer to Abra's neck. He easily blocked them all.  
"Lexa, stop! You're in pain!" He shouted suddenly as her effortlessly blocked another one of her jabs. For some reason, this annoyed her even more and with a scream, she furiously threw her spear towards Abra. It clattered to the ground in front of her. Abra stood unharmed and looking at her, his face sympathetic. She pushed past him to retrieve her spear but somebody pulled it away from beneath her hands.

"A true warrior knows when to stop and step back. You will never win the conclave if you are clouded by anger." A voice said solemnly. She looked up to see Luna standing over her. Lexa stood up and looked Luna square in the face.  
"Give me back my spear, Luna. You are wrong. I know my limits and I hadn't crossed them." She said, her face cold although she was seething with anger underneath, "So, give me back my spear..." She attempted to snatch the spear out of Luna's hands but Luna swiftly moved it away from her and Lexa stumbled forward slightly.  
"You were fighting without skill back there. You were clearly clouded by anger and it was making your every slash and jab callous. Abra was telling you to stop for your own good, Lexa." Luna said, "You should calm down, Lexa. When you step back, you will be ready to fight again." This was infuriating, she was calm already. She had walked in Polis and she couldn't waste more time. Every second was valuable.  
"No. I am in control of my emotions. I know when to stop. Now, give me back my spear." She said calmly. She looked down as she spoke as she felt that if she looked into Luna's eyes her anger would resurface. She reached for her spear and this time Luna returned her spear without fighting. With that, Luna turned on her heel and left.

Lexa turned around to continue her battle with Abra but he too had gone. She was all alone. For a second, Lexa felt overwhelmed with loneliness. She wanted somebody to spar with, to prove that she was in control. Then she realised that maybe this would be good, she could fight without anybody watching. Although she hate to admit it, Luna had been right. She wasn't in control back there. Now, she felt calmer and she was ready to fight again.

It was getting dark when Lexa finally felt she was finished. A few people had come and gone from the training grounds but Lexa felt that she was on the path to improvement. She put her spear away and walked back into the tower. She took the time to look out of the window and yet again, watch over the city. The sun was nearly gone although there was still a tiny glimmer, just lighting up the roofs of the stalls and houses. The stall holders were closing down and people were beginning to light fires in preparation for the cold night.  
"I saw you earlier." Luna's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she turned around to see Luna standing there, shrouded by shadows.  
"How long have you been there? Where you watching me?" A mixture of paranoia and defensiveness welled up inside Lexa. Luna slowly emerged from the shadows.  
"Not long. I was referring to earlier. You were along and practicing with the spear. You were much more skilled and controlled." Luna said. A smile slowly formed on Luna's face. Not a fake half smile, but a genuine, sincere one.  
"I don't see why you would smile at that. It just means that it will be easier to kill you." Lexa replied coldly. Luna's smile vanished and was replaced with a sudden look of sadness. She locked eyes with Lexa for a brief second and then walked off without another word. Lexa watched her walk off down the corridor. If she didn't know any better, she would think that Luna didn't want to have to fight and fulfil her destiny in the conclave. But she quickly dismissed that thought, Luna probably wanted to win as much as the others. It was their destiny.


End file.
